Joel E. Krischer retired from the partnership on December 1, 2011. He was a partner in the firm's Los Angeles office and represented employers in a broad range of state and federal employment matters, including the defense of both individual and class discrimination claims, wrongful termination and related tort claims, claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act, and various other state and federal employment laws. Mr. Krischer also represented employers in a broad array of matters under the National Labor Relations Act, including both elections and unfair labor practice charges before the National Labor Relations Board, and significant collective bargaining negotiations and arbitrations for companies and multiemployer groups in a variety of industries. Mr. Krischer also represented employers in a wide variety of individual and class-action claims regarding ERISA matters, including benefits arising under pension plans, severance plans, medical plans, life insurance plans and retiree health-and-welfare plans.
Mr. Krischer has lectured and written for such organizations as the National Employment Law Institute, The Rutter Group, the California Judges Association, the American Arbitration Association, The Employers Group (formerly the Merchants and Manufacturers Association), the American Electronics Association, the Institute of Business Law, the Council on Education in Management, the Orange County Employee Assistance Network, California State University at Irvine and Long Beach, the University of Houston and the University of Michigan Law Review. He was also a member of the Board of Trustees and the Legal Committee for The Employers Group, and a member of the Board of Governors for the Association of Business Trial Lawyers.
Mr. Krischer was active in firm management. He is a former national Chair of the firm’s Employment Law Group and former Chair of the Los Angeles Litigation Department. He served on the firm’s Associates Committee for five years, two as its Chair. At the time of his retirement, Mr. Krischer was an active member of the State Bar of California, and he began practicing law in 1975.